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Cons:

The console versions of True Crime: Streets of LA were met withmixedreviews. It's a fun game, they said, but it certainly wasn't the Grand Theft Auto killer that the pre-release hype made it out to be. Reviews complained about wonky camera angles, repetitive combat, and how the game was too short. While the just-released PC version manages to retain the overall appeal of the original game, these complaints hold true, with a few new ones that cropped up along the way

True Crime hurls you into the detective shoes of Nick Kang, a hard-boiled cocky cop whose questionable methods got him suspended by the Los Angeles Police Department. It's his violent tendencies that make him perfect for the new Elite Operations Division (EOD), which is a lot like, well, a police department. As Kang, you'll play through a story arc broken into several acts, each of which consists of at least four missions.

Shot to the jaw!

Kang is a generally likeable hero, although his cocky nature might turn off some gamers. Fans of action flicks starring Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Van Damme, and Segal will feel right at home. Kang is prone to solving crimes with maximum force, he's quick with one-liners, and his reputation alienates everyone who works with him (including his new partner, whom, upon meeting her, he mistakes for a secretary and asks to fetch him a cup of coffee). He's already an accomplished marksman and martial artist, and you can upgrade his powers further in 24-hour training facilities.

True Crime's plot-driven missions can be split into four primary types: driving, fighting, shooting, and free-form. Driving missions might challenge you to reach a certain destination within a time limit, or tail a suspect without losing him or getting too close and spooking him. Fighting missions pit Kang in a kung-fu match against one or more bad guys. Rare shooting missions tend to throw a dozen or more crooks into Kang's line of fire, during which sets get broken up like the bank lobby in The Matrix. Free-form missions allow you to cruise the streets of LA to your heart's content, and the map is remarkably realistic. As far as real cities represented in computer games go, True Crime puts the Midtown Madness series to shame.

LA ... sans traffic.

Depending on how you solve crimes and confront suspects, a meter in the HUD will swing between "good cop" and "bad cop" ratings. Killing suspects, running down pedestrians, and generally being violent earns you bad-cop points, while taking suspects alive swings the meter the other way. The story branches depending on your rating. In a nifty twist, you can continue playing through the story arc even if you fail a mission; you'll simply see a different cutscene before your next challenge.

The freedom to handle crime busting your way, and the fact that it contributes to the branches of the story arc, make for seriously compelling and unique gameplay. True Crime brings a dimension to gaming only touched upon by the light side/dark side Jedi Knight series. The missions are varied and enjoyable coercing you to move along from one to the next, and gaming sessions often end up lasting longer that you had planned. That said, the game suffers from some unfortunate gaffs that keep me from recommending it as strongly as I could have.